A study published in 2015 in the American Journal of Human Genetics, based on 23and Me data from 8,663 self-described Latinos, estimated that Latinos in the United States carried a mean of 65.1% European ancestry, 18.0% Native American ancestry, and 6.2% African ancestry.The study found that self-described Latinos from the Southwest, especially those along the Mexican border, had the highest mean levels of Native American ancestry, while self-described Latinos from the South, Midwest, and Atlantic Coast had the highest mean levels of African ancestry.

Latin Americans, White Latin Americans, Amerindian, Afro-Latin Americans, Asian Hispanic and Latino Americans, Mestizos, Zamboes, Mulattoes, Pardos, Castizos, Tejanos, Louisiana Creole people, Chicanos, Nuyoricans. government agencies have slightly different definitions of the term, including Brazilians and other Portuguese-speaking groups.Preference of use between the terms among Hispanics and Latinos in the United States often depends on where users of the respective terms reside.Those in the Eastern United States tend to prefer the term Hispanic, whereas those in the West tend to prefer Latino.The terms "Hispanic" and "Latino" refer to an ethnicity; people of this group may be of any race.Hispanic people may share some commonalities in their language, culture, history, and heritage.